Looking for something to watch? Then you’re best off avoiding these biopics and fictional epics.
Films about our favourite bands can be amazing, life-changing spectacles. But sometimes they can also be something of a letdown. Radio X looks at the times that the music movie has been less than thrilling.
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Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
After the success of Saturday Night Fever, The Bee Gees could do no wrong… or could they? For the follow-up, they decided to make this plotless parade of star cameos masquerading as yet another “tribute” to The Beatles. What had the Fabs done to deserve all this? The Brothers Gibb team up with heart-throb-of-the-moment Peter Frampton, comedian Frankie Howerd sings Mean Mr Mustard, comedian Steve Martin sings Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, Alice Cooper appears for no reason, a wacked-out Aerosmith are the villains and there’s a character called “Strawberry Fields”.
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KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park (1978)
Glam metal rockers KISS never really took off in the UK in the 1970s as much as they did in the US, where they seemed to mainly appeal to 7 year olds. This must have been the thinking behind this Halloween 1978 TV special, which sees the rockers star in a mystery produced by cartoon studio Hanna-Barbera in the style of their hit show, Scooby Doo.
The musicians take on a criminal mastermind who’s trying to ruin a theme park using an army of robots – or something – and you can enjoy the sight of Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss kung-fu kicking their opponents while Gene Simmons talks like a robot and occasionally roars. Even small children will be embarrassed.